The government started putting new rules into action that will help local communities share profits from mining companies. These special groups called Community Share Ownership Trusts let people who live near mines earn money from the resources taken from their land. Mining firms used to take valuable metals and minerals without giving much back to the areas where they worked. The new system makes sure communities receive fair payments and better services.
Cabinet ministers agreed to these changes during a meeting on June 3rd. Dr Thomas Utete Wushe works as the top official at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. He explained that mining companies often took resources and left without helping local people build better lives. The government wants to stop this practice and create jobs for residents who live near mining operations.
Officials set up 61 community trusts back during 2013 and registered 58 of them successfully. Many of these groups struggled to work properly and need government help to start again. The ministry plans to check each trust and fix problems that stopped them from helping their communities. New rules will make the trusts run better and handle money more carefully.
Most people from Zimbabwe live away from cities where mining happens frequently. Minister Mangaliso Ndhlovu said these rural communities deserved to benefit from the wealth buried under their homes. The government decided that local people should receive direct payments when companies dig up gold, diamonds and other precious materials from their ancestral lands.
Cabinet ministers agreed to these changes during a meeting on June 3rd. Dr Thomas Utete Wushe works as the top official at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. He explained that mining companies often took resources and left without helping local people build better lives. The government wants to stop this practice and create jobs for residents who live near mining operations.
Officials set up 61 community trusts back during 2013 and registered 58 of them successfully. Many of these groups struggled to work properly and need government help to start again. The ministry plans to check each trust and fix problems that stopped them from helping their communities. New rules will make the trusts run better and handle money more carefully.
Most people from Zimbabwe live away from cities where mining happens frequently. Minister Mangaliso Ndhlovu said these rural communities deserved to benefit from the wealth buried under their homes. The government decided that local people should receive direct payments when companies dig up gold, diamonds and other precious materials from their ancestral lands.
